WHAT WE BELIEVE
GOD
We believe that God is one (Deut 6:4, Isa. 43:10), all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal Creator, Redeemer, and Sovereign Ruler over all creation. His character is immutable (Mal. 3:6), and in His infinite holiness He stands as altogether transcendent from His creation (Ex. 3:5, Lev. 19:2, Ps. 99:9, Isa 6:3, 57:15). In this uniqueness apart from His creation, His nature is Triune--meaning He exists in three distinct persons, known as the Trinity (Matt. 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14). The persons of the Trinity all share the same essence (or substance) yet are distinct from one another as expressed in the Scriptures (Mk. 1:9-11, Jn. 14:16-17) as well as the Athanasius Creed. The person of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all considered God and are co-eternal, co-equal, uncreated, and dwell in everlasting. 1689 London Baptist Confession Chapter 2 Of God and of the Holy Trinity “The Lord our God is one, the only living and true God.1 He is self-existent2 and infinite in being and perfection. His essence cannot be understood by anyone but him.3 He is a perfectly pure spirit.4 He is invisible and has no body, parts, or changeable emotions.a He alone has immortality, dwelling in light that no one can approach.5 He is unchangeable,6 immense,b,7 eternal,8 incomprehensible, almighty,9 in every way infinite, absolutely holy,10 perfectly wise, wholly free, completely absolute. He works all things according to the counsel of his own unchangeable and completely righteous will11 for his own glory.12 He is most loving, gracious, merciful, and patient. He overflows with goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. He rewards those who seek him diligently.13 At the same time, he is perfectly just and terrifying in his judgments.14 He hates all sin15 and will certainly not clear the guilty.”16 apassions btranscends all space 11 Corinthians 8:4, 6; Deuteronomy 6:4. 2Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 48:12. 3Exodus 3:14. 4John 4:24. 51 Timothy 1:17; Deuteronomy 4:15, 16. 6Malachi 3:6. 71 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:23. 8Psalm 90:2. 9Genesis 17:1. 10Isaiah 6:3. 11Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10. 12Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36. 13Exodus 34:6, 7; Hebrews 11:6. 14Nehemiah 9:32, 33. 15Psalm 5:5, 6. 16Exodus 34:7; Nahum 1:2, 3.
JESUS
The second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, who is truly God, entered into creation by the miracle of the virgin birth (Isa. 7:14, Matt. 1:18-23). Through the incarnation, Christ took upon a human nature, thus becoming truly man (Jn. 1:14, Col. 1:19, 2:9). While here on earth, Jesus was sinless and obeyed every single one of the Father's commands in perfect obedience even to the point of being crucified (Phil 2:5-11). Jesus Christ died a substitutionary death, dying in our place and paying our sin debt, thus reconciling those who trust in the Gospel to God (2 Cor. 5:19-21, Col. 1:20, 1 Pet. 3:18). After being buried, he rose on the third day in a bodily resurrection and after a period of time, he ascended into glory and now sits at the right hand of the Father (Acts. 1:9, Acts. 2:22-24, Heb. 1:1-3). Jesus Christ is Lord over all and will return bodily, visibly, and in power and glory, to judge both the living and the dead, and consummate the next age (Matt. 24:30-31,1 Thess. 4:14-18, 1 Tim. 6:13-16, 1 Jn. 2:28). Although God is transcendent, He is also knowable and involved in His creation by way of relationship and providential decree. Quote of the Nicene Creed “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.”
HOLY SPIRIT
The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is fully divine and co-equal with God the Father and God the Son(Gen. 1:2, Acts. 5:3). In His work, He regenerates people to a new life in Christ, indwells them, and enables them to understand the Scriptures, live the Christian life, and seals them for the Day of Christ‘s return (Luke 12:12, Jn. 14:26, Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30). His ministry is to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Still, more specifically to the Christian, He guides, comforts and provides a real presence in the life of the believer (Jn. 14:16-17, 16:8 Gal. 4:6). He is a gift (Jn. 16:7-14, 2 Tim.1:14). He bestows spiritual gifts to the believer and to the church, to empower the preaching and demonstration—the Gospel (1 Cor. 12:3-11, Luke 24:39, Acts. 4:31). Quote from the Nicene Creed “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”
THE SCRIPTURES
The Scriptures contain both the Old and New Testaments and were written by men inspired by the Spirit of God (1 Pt. 1:20-21). This revelation of God through the written word is without error or contradiction and is sufficient for all matters of life and practice (2 Tim. 3:16). Furthermore, since the Scriptures find their origin in God, and are considered to be “God-breathed,” then Biblical revelation is unchanging (Isa. 40:8) and authoritative. 1689 London Baptist Confession Chapter 1 “On the Holy Scriptures” 10. The supreme judge for deciding all religious controversies and for evaluating all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, human teachings, and individual interpretations, and in whose judgment we are to rest, is nothing but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit. In this Scripture our faith finds its final word.21 21Matthew 22:29, 31, 32; Ephesians 2:20; Acts 28:23
THE GOSPEL
We believe the Gospel is the glorious good news that Christ, the Righteous One, saves sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). The entirety of the gospel message is found within the person and work of Jesus Christ. Firstly, that Christ being God came down in the flesh, being born of a virgin and dwelt among men (Jn. 1-14). Secondly, while on earth, Jesus lived a perfect sinless life under God's law, a life that you or I should have lived, but were unable to do so. (Mtt. 5:17, Heb. 4:15). Third, Jesus Christ in obedience to the will of the Father, went to the cross willingly, being crucified and killed for the sake of sinners, in effect redeeming them from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13) and paying the penalty for their sin debt. After the death of Christ, he was buried and three days later, he was physically resurrected from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, as a witness that Christ was triumphant over sin and death (Mtt. 28, Mk. 16, Lk. 24, Jn. 20). And finally, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11) to return again in full glory (Lk. 21:25-28, Acts 1:11) to judge all of humanity in righteousness and consummate the establishment of his eternal kingdom.
SALVATION
We believe that Salvation is a supernatural working of God's grace by which a person is freed from the condemnation of sin (Rom. 8:1), regenerated into a new creation, (2 Cor. 5:17), and has their eternal hope secured in God through Christ’s shed blood on the cross. Salvation cannot be found or procured in any other way except through the person and work of Christ alone (Jn. 14:6, Acts 4:11-12). No amount of good works, church attendance, or doctrinal knowledge can merit salvation, it is given as a free gift to all who believe (Jn. 3:16, Eph. 2:8-9).